Russell Brand doesn’t think so – and I tend to agree with Russell.

When calculating surplus income, trustees in bankruptcy refer to the Federal Government’s poverty (LICO – Low Income Cut Off) guidelines. However, minimum wage, pensions, welfare payments and so forth all fall below in some cases (especially considering government payments for welfare and pensions) are hideously below any reasonable standard of living/existing.

The LICO for a single person is $2,014.00 per month in net income. The “median income” level in Canada is $27,600.00 per year which nets (after taxes) out to about $1,800.00 per month. That statistic means that more than 50% (half) of all Canadians are living below the poverty line.

Hypothetically if the top 1% of income earners in Canada, who earn more than ten times the income of the average Canadian, were to pay an income tax increase of 5% the government would receive a 50% increase in income tax revenue.